Cooking In the Dorm

Dorm Room Cooking Supply Tips

Okay, here is a typical dormitory situation:
It’s the first week of your first year of college. Its getting late, you can’t get to a car, you are hungry and, well, there is nothing to eat in your room. However, there are vending machines, but what are a bunch of cookies and bags of chips going to do for you nutrition-wise? This is why a student living in the dorm needs to have a plan together for actually cooking in the dorm or at least storing food in the dorm room.

Some basic dorm cooking necessities:
a small refrigerator, microwave, some microwave-safe dishes, can opener for those yummy canned pastas, utensils to eat them with, pot holder, sponge and dish soap (to wash the dishes out in the restroom with), dish towels, paper towels (just in case), and a cookbook.
With these things in mind, now a student living in the dormitory should consider what to have on-hand for dormitory consumption.

Dorm food supplies we recommend
Some of the items we recommend the basics of dorm survival such as the classic canned pastas and soup, bean burritos, cereal, milk (make sure it’s a size that fits in the fridge with other things), cans of tuna (they store really well), big box of granola bars, nuts, frozen dinners (again, remember that your little freezer may not hold too much). In addition, we recommend getting some boxes of dry mac and cheese, along with some pasta and other items you would normally have at your pantry at home since many of these item will be stored in your makeshift pantry also known as your wardrobe closet.

If you aren’t able to store anymore things in your closet (which is very understandable) try obtaining some plastic storage units or even cardboard boxes that can fit under your bed to store dry foods in. No one ever said living in the dorm was an easy task, but once you get the hang of it, it’s not so bad. Actually it becomes enjoyable and one day you may very well miss it altogether.

In addition to these items, another wonderful piece of equipment to have on-hand is a coffee maker or a water-boiling unit. This comes quite in handy even though you may have a microwave as it tells YOU when the water is hot as opposed to constantly having to check to see if the microwave heated it enough. Plus, if you get your water from the restroom sink, the water-boiling unit will boil much of the unwanted things that could possibly be in the water such as chemicals in the public water and such.

Now, if you really want something a bit more gourmet but only have a fridge, freezer and a microwave, you can try adding frozen vegetables and even a salad in the mix. Soon you will be the envy of all those dorm-mates on your floor who aren’t as well prepared as you!
One more thing in regards to dorm foods, make sure you wash your dishes as they may attract bugs in your dorm room which may take a while to get out. It would be a good guess that two people is enough in the room and that neither you or your roommate would appreciate any more daily guests especially those who are pests.